The Council of Europe said on Wednesday it “strongly condemned” the detention of Istanbul Mayor and President Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, Ekrem Imamoglu, as a move against the will of the people.

Amberin Zaman, Al-Monitor’s chief correspondent based in Paris and covering major stories on Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa, joins Thanos Davelis to break down what Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s new willingness to engage with Kurdish leaders means for the peace process with the country’s Kurds and the PKK.

Istanbul Mayor and President Tayyip Erdogan’s main rival, Ekrem Imamoglu, said in his first comments following his detention on Wednesday that Turkish people would give the necessary response to “lies, plots and traps” against him.

Turkey’s justice minister said on Wednesday that linking President Tayyip Erdogan to ongoing legal moves including the detention of Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul’s mayor and Erdogan’s main political rival, amounted to overstepping and insolence.

The slow-burn race for the most powerful job in world sport roared into life on Wednesday, set against the dazzling backdrop of the Ionian Sea, where the seven contenders for the International Olympic Committee presidency made their final moves ahead of a vote that will shape the sporting landscape for the next decade.

Nestled amidst the verdant landscapes north of Athens, the former royal estate of Tatoi is undergoing a meticulous restoration, breathing new life into its historic structures.

The president of the Tempe Victims’ Association, Maria Karystianou, sent a legal notice on Wednesday to the president of the Parliament’s preliminary investigative committee into the 2023 Tempe rail disaster, Panagiotis Kappatos.

The 144th Session of the International Olympic Committee was launched open on Tuesday at Ancient Olympia.

Aegean Airlines will increase its seat offering this year by 10% compared to 2024, to reach 21.5 million seats, Chairman Eftichios Vassilakis said.

During 2024, Greek banks' lending to Greek-owned ocean-going shipping increased from $15.8 billion at the end of 2023 to around $17 billion. This is despite the fact that the strong performance of the freight market in recent years has led many shipping companies to repay their loans ahead of maturity.

Turkey's lira fell as much as 12.7% and touched a new all-time low of 42 to the dollar on Wednesday, with bonds and stocks also tumbling sharply, after authorities detained President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival.

The Greek government is set to recommence surveys in April for the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), a subsea electricity cable linking Greece and Cyprus, despite technical delays and Turkish opposition.

Human Rights Watch Turkey Director Emma Sinclair-Webb condemned the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and others from the Istanbul municipality on Wednesday, calling it a “flagrant abuse of the justice system.”

The large increase in foreigners’ interest in purchasing holiday homes is now also fueling the construction of new homes on Crete.

The main political ally of President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey's judiciary was independent, in comments after the detention of leading opposition figure Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Wednesday.

The death toll from Greece’s catastrophic Storm Daniel may be significantly higher than official figures suggest, according to a new study by the Center for Research & Education in Public Health, Health Policy & Primary Health Care (KEPY).

The recent dispute between Hellenic Metro and the AVAX-led consortium building Line 4 of the Athens Metro appears to be the result of the constructors’ efforts to make up for delays in completing the project.

A donation of £5,000 will be made to Floga, an association of parents of children with neoplastic disease, by Scottish soccer fans visiting Athens for their national team’s upcoming match against Greece.

Turkey detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Wednesday on charges such as graft and aiding a terrorist group, a step the main opposition party criticised as a “coup attempt against the next president.”

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) opened its summit in Ancient Olympia for the first time in a highly symbolic event on Tuesday.